Tom Aspinall has released exclusive backstage footage detailing Sunday’s horrific UFC heavyweight title eye poke — declaring the illegal strike “touched the back of my eyeball” — as the sporting world debates the Englishman’s decision to end the fight.
Aspinall wakes today with, likely, a patch still over his right eye, and the division he resides over, undeniably, in disarray, after being severely gouged by Ciryl Gane at UFC 321 in Abu Dhabi.
Despite replays clearly showing Gane going “knuckle deep” into both eyes of the champ late in the first round, social media has still exploded in the 24 hours since as fight fans split on Aspinall’s decision to stop the fight – and over the not so small matter of being unable to see.
UFC 322: Della Maddalena vs Makhachev | SUN 16 NOV 2PM AEDT | Australia’s own Jack Della Maddalena puts his welterweight title on the line against Pound for Pound great and former lightweight champ Islam Makhachev in a blockbuster night of fights, live from New York City. | Order Now with Main Event on Kayo Sports.
Eye poke forces main event No Contest | 00:37
Yet while some, like UFC analyst Chael Sonnen, have suggested Aspinall should have continued on while significantly impaired – insisting that “to fight with one eye is common” – others have branded those calling the UK star a quitter as “insane”.
Popular American journalist Bill Simmons has even questioned how Gane wasn’t immediately disqualified for an act that, while accidental, Aspinall has since revealed “felt like someone’s touched my eyeball”.
In a telling video released to both Youtube, and clipped up for his Instagram channel, the UFC heavyweight champ details the aftermath of a fight that saw him hospitalised for treatment.
“I can feel how deep it went,” Aspinall says into the camera, while sitting inside a hospital room with a large patch over his eye.
“It was outrageous.
“It feels like someone’s touched the back of my eyeball.
“It felt like his finger hit the back of the eye socket when he pushed it in.”
During his time at the hospital, Aspinall also revealed his good eye was also starting to get blurry – “so I can barely see,” he said – while also praising UFC great Michael Bisping, who famously continued his career despite losing the sight in his right eye.
“I really respect what Bisping’s done,” Aspinall said. “I wouldn’t fight with one eye, no chance”.
A medical professional is also filmed saying that while they have found “nothing dangerous”, stopping the fight was undeniably the correct call. They then added Aspinall would need further check ups in the UK moving forward.
In another shortened video initially released on his Instagram page, Aspinall was shown backstage afterwards and then at a hospital undergoing treatment and testing.
“All that training for that,” Aspinall can be heard saying. “What the f*** is [Gane] doing?”
UFC commentator Daniel Cormier was also then seen on camera, talking with Aspinall about how deep, in particular, the challenger had appeared to go with a finger into his left eye.
“They were both bad,” Aspinall told the UFC Hall of Famer.
“He got warned for it.
“Twice before he got warned for it and f***ing did it again.”
Video then shows what appears to be the UFC heavyweight champ being treated by a paramedic on the way to hospital, a patch over one eye, and then getting testing done.
Elsewhere in the video, the UFC superstar’s coach and father, Andy Aspinall, shares his thoughts – recounting how Bisping effectively lost his right eye due to a Vitor Belfort headkick.
“Mike Bisping, he lost his eye,” Aspinall Sr. said.
“It’s a horrendous thing to think [about] as a parent, really.
“I know what it’s like these days with people saying what they want, but it is just your son, and they could lose an eye and their health, and they’ve got children to look after.
“You know, something needs doing about it.
“It’s horrendous for me to look at.”
Officially, the eye poke was deemed accidental by referee Jason Herzog, with the fight declared a ‘No Contest’. UFC boss Dana White also revealed at the post-fight press conference that a rematch would be made as soon as possible.
However, commentators like Simmons have asked how, while accidents happen all the time in contact sports, how an offender escapes punishment simply because the act is deemed ‘accidental’.
Writing on ‘X’ afterwards, Simmons said: “Gane poked Aspinall in both eyes and doubled down and went back for seconds on the same eye poke and dug even deeper – if that’s not a DQ, then what do you have to do on an eye poke for a DQ? Do you need to also use a shrimp fork? Maybe I don’t understand the rules.”
Elsewhere, popular ‘X’ account SuperFan also spoke for many when they tweeted: “People being more mad at Tom Aspinall than Ciryl Gane has showed me that the MMA community is hopeless”.
Across the other side of the debate cage, however, Sonnen and fellow analyst Anthony Smith both finished fight night leading the song sheet for those convinced Aspinall should have fought on.
“Being poked in the eye is illegal,” Sonnen started, “but to fight with one eye is very common.
“The opponent is trying to hit your eye, he’s trying to bust up and make your nose bleed, so that part of it does have questions for guys like me.
“We’re trying to be polite, we’re trying to show grace, but in all fairness you’re the heavyweight champion of the world, you’ve got to fight with one eye at times.”
Anthony Smith had a similar opinion, especially after he endured a nasty eye poke in his fight against Ryan Spann back in 2023.
On that night, Smith continued despite his vision being compromised and he knew exactly what to tell the ringside physician and referee to ensure the fight didn’t get stopped.
“I’m not saying it’s Tom’s fault, and I’m not going to pretend that I know how bad it is or isn’t,” Smith said.
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“I think Chael made a poetic point that you have to be used to or willing to fight with one eye. I did it in Singapore.
“Everyone talks about it all the time where the lady’s waving stuff in front of my eyes. I can’t see it. So what do I do? I just walk away and say ‘let’s fight’.
“You either want to or you don’t.
“My fight wasn’t for a world title.
“I didn’t have Ciryl Gane in front of me throwing bombs, but the second that there was an issue, I knew that I wanted to continue so I know what to say. You never say ‘I can’t see’ if you want to continue to fight.”
Apart from the obviously controversial nature of the finish, debate has also raged over Aspinall’s decision given it appeared Gane, who entered the fight as a significant underdog, was actually winning the first round.
After two unsuccessful title attempts previously, France’s hulking star was bringing the fight early, landing the jab tellingly, and had even drawn blood from the champion’s nose.
But his subsequent eye gouge with less than 30 seconds remaining in the first hasn’t only thrown the heavyweight division into chaos, or again opened debate about MMA gloves, but also caused the UFC fan base to split.
Bizarrely, the criticism started even before Aspinall had left the Octagon, with the fighter telling Abu Dhabi’s booing crowd: “Guys, I just got poked knuckle-deep in the eyeball. Why are you booing? I can’t see.”
Unsurprisingly, Jon Jones immediately took to social media afterwards, calling for a fight with Alex Pereira on the White House lawn, while also altering his Twitter photo of a duck – a shot at Aspinall’s continued ducking claims – by adding an eye patch.
However, Aspinall also received plenty of heavyweight support which, it should be noted, was led by UFC Hall of Famer Bisping, who said of the champ, “he didn’t want to continue not being able to see. I don’t blame him”.
Speaking on his Youtube channel, UFC star Sean O’Malley described anyone throwing up question marks over Aspinall’s toughness as “insane”.
“No one wanted that more than Tom Aspinall, he wanted to fight more than we wanted to watch him fight,” O’Malley said. “So you can’t question Tom’s toughness.
“I’ve been poked in the eye before, not in a fight but in practice. I said, ‘I’m done, I’m not going to continue to practice’.
“You can’t see. It’s scary.
“You don’t know if [your eyesight] is going to come back.
“You don’t know if you’re going to see again. It’s really a possibility that you get poked in the eye and can’t see ever again, let alone now you’re trying to fight this guy.
“He [Gane] is a massive, elite athlete who has been popping you with a jab, now you have one eye because of an illegal strike. It’s unfortunate, but you just can’t question Tom’s toughness on that.”
UFC 322: Della Maddalena vs Makhachev | SUN 16 NOV 2PM AEDT | Australia’s own Jack Della Maddalena puts his welterweight title on the line against Pound for Pound great and former lightweight champ Islam Makhachev in a blockbuster night of fights, live from New York City. | Order Now with Main Event on Kayo Sports.
I thought it was gonna be easier | 02:54
Elsewhere, popular American sports doctor Brian Sutterer also took to social media to back the champ, tweeting: “Aspinall was unable to continue after one of the worst-looking, not single, but double eye pokes I’ve seen in the sport.
“Right off the bat, for any MMA fans watching this saying ‘Tom Aspinall quit’, that he was trying to duck Gane, that he knew he was going to lose anyway, so he just claimed he couldn’t see. Absolutely complete nonsense.
“There is nothing about what we saw here that should be regarded as him faking this or making this up. I don’t care that one of his eyes was open during the interview. There is nothing about this that should be interpreted as him making an excuse or trying to get out of the fight.”